Yasuichiro Yamamoto

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Yasuichiro Yamamoto

Yasuichiro Yamamoto.jpg

Profile
Gender: Male
Date of birth: January 6, 1961
Place of birth: Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Location: Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Position: Director
Chief director
Supervisor
Screenplay
Organizer
Storyboard
Episode director
Assistant technical director
Sub-character design
Picture book design
Key animation
Layout
Years active: 1983-present

Yasuichiro Yamamoto (山本 泰一郎 Yamamoto Yasuichirō?), born January 6, 1961 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a renowned Japanese anime director, and storyboard artist. He directed Detective Conan from episode 119 to 332, before being replaced by Masato Sato. He later became the director from movie 8 to movie 14, chief director for movie 15 and movie 16, and supervisor for movie 17.

In September 2012, he came back as the director for the anime since episode 667, and still directing the anime until now (except for episodes 678-679, which is directed by Koujin Ochi). Since episode 975, he co-directs the series along with Nobuharu Kamanaka.

Biography

Yamamoto joined Studio Boomerang in 1983. After serving as an animator, he then became a director in 1991. In the same year, he was also involved in the production of the anime Red Baron (レッドバロン), working with Masato Sato already (the two of them both joined the Detective Conan production later). Afterwards, Yamamoto joined the production of the Detective Conan anime in 1996. At first, he did several organizer, storyboard, and episode director works within the anime, representing Studio Boomerang, starting with the first part of Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case.

Photo of Yasuichiro Yamamoto taken in 2009.

When his teacher Kenji Kodama resigned as director and only served as the chief director for the anime, Yamamoto became the director of the Detective Conan anime. At the same time, he also quit Studio Boomerang and went freelance; therefore, he no longer worked on episodes outsourced to the studio. Minoru Tozawa thus took over the job as an episode director for most Studio Boomerang episodes (even until the present). During this period when he first directed the Detective Conan anime, the TV rating of each episode had increased to a great extent; the animation quality of the episodes during his directional era were also fairly high, by virtue of his animation background before he became the director.

He then suceeded the director role for the movies from Kenji Kodama as well, being the director of seven Detective Conan movies. The movies that he directed for Detective Conan possess the highest evaluation among the industry, compared to the other two directors. Starting with movie 10, the Detective Conan movies (under his direction) invariably appeared in the list of "eminent animated films" of Japan Academy Film Prize (日本アカデミー賞). Whereas movie 9, is also the only Detective Conan work to win an award at the Tokyo Anime Award (東京アニメアワード) - one of Japan's most important animation awards. What is more, most of his directed movies contain splendid story settings, in terms of the story premises: from plane to ship, from ship to airship... On the other hand, he also attempted to mingle elements such as romance, friendship, and even action into the movies. After he directed movie 14, he stepped down from the movie director role and served as the chief director for movies 15-16, and the supervisor for movie 17. Later on, the Detective Conan movie director position was passed down to Kobun Shizuno.

After quitting the direction of Detective Conan movies, he returned to anime, continued to contribute storyboards, and became the anime director once again after Koujin Ochi's resignation, until present. He then continued Ochi's legacy by introducing a proper "Animation Supervisor" (作画監修 ?) role for the anime to maintain the stability of the anime quality (the role didn't become regular until 2014 with episode 738). During this second trial for his direction of the anime, the episodes remain of high TV ratings and compliments; the case Shinichi Kudo's Aquarium Case and the series The Scarlet Return are highly rated, the original author Gosho Aoyama also praised them (via the game Animal Crossing). In addition, he also manifested repects towards the original manga, in which he recified the fault character design of Wataru Takagi that was caused by the loss of character sheet in early anime production; he also corrected the scenario "Akemi's death" by releasing the TV special Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small in 2016; and allegedly, he often asks the original author for lines' adjustments when executing manga adaptations.

However, some of his storyboard/technical director works for the Detective Conan openings and endings, especially during his 2nd directional era, are not very innovative, a lot of the fans constantly make jokes with regards to them. This is because most of the storyboards he drew for these openings and endings are merely stretching shots and using animation effects (in contrast to those by Koujin Ochi which they are mostly narrating a story). Another thing worth mentioning, is that in these openings that he was in charge of, tree and grassland are the indispensable components, and characters usually run on the grassland. This type of opening already existed since OP7 Mysterious Eyes.

Furthermore, when he was still the director of the Detective Conan movies, he also drew some key animation frames for the movies, but was not credited in the ending of the movies.

Works in Detective Conan

Anime

Participation in: 84 cases (107 episodes)

Jpn# Int# Episode title Original broadcast Role Note
34 35 Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case (Part 1) October 21, 1996 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
39 40 Wealthy Daughter Murder Case (Part 1) November 25, 1996 Organizer, Storyboard
40 41 Wealthy Daughter Murder Case (Part 2) December 2, 1996 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
45 46 Facial Mask Murder Case January 27, 1997 Storyboard, Episode director
47 48 Sports Club Murder Case February 10, 1997 Storyboard
52 53-54 The Mist Goblin Legend Murder Case March 17, 1997 Storyboard, Episode director 1 hour
57 59 Holmes Freak Murder Case (Part 1) May 5, 1997 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
58 60 Holmes Freak Murder Case (Part 2) May 12, 1997 Organizer, Storyboard
62 64 A Ghost Ship Murder Case (Part 2) June 9, 1997 Storyboard, Episode director
68 70 Night Baron Murder Case (The Case) July 21, 1997 Episode director
74 76 The Death God Jinnai Murder Case September 1, 1997 Storyboard, Episode director
78 81 Distinguished Family's Consecutive Accidental Death Case (Part 2) October 27, 1997 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
81 84 The Kidnapping of a Popular Artist Case (Part 1) November 17, 1997 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
82 85 The Kidnapping of a Popular Artist Case (Part 2) November 24, 1997 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
87 90 The Crane's Return of a Favor Murder Case January 19, 1998 Episode director
91 94 The Bank Robber's Hospitalization Case February 16, 1998 Episode director
96 99-102 The Cornered Famous Detective! Two Big Murder Cases March 23, 1998 Episode director 2 hours
97 103 The Farewell Wine Murder Case April 13, 1998 Episode director
101 107 The Memories of First Love Case (Part 2) May 18, 1998 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
107 113 The Mysterious Mole Alien Case (Part 1) June 29, 1998 Storyboard, Episode director
108 114 The Mysterious Mole Alien Case (Part 2) July 6, 1998 Storyboard
111 117 Cooking Classroom Murder Case (Part 2) August 3, 1998 Episode director
113 119 The White Sandy Beach Murder Case August 17, 1998 Episode director
118 124-125 The Naniwa Serial Murder Case September 21, 1998 Episode director
128 135 The Black Organization: One Billion Yen Robbery Case December 14, 1998 Storyboard
135 145 The Disappearing Weapon Search Case February 15, 1999 Storyboard
140 150 SOS! Messages from Ayumi April 11, 1999 Storyboard
144 154 The North Star No.3 Express Leaving Ueno (Part 1) May 3, 1999 Organizer, Storyboard
145 155 The North Star No.3 Express Leaving Ueno (Part 2) May 10, 1999 Organizer, Storyboard
166 177 Tottori Spider Mansion Demon (The Case) November 1, 1999 Organizer, Storyboard
177 191 Reunion with the Black Organization (Conan) January 24, 2000 Organizer, Storyboard
191 206 The Desperate Revival - The Black Knight May 22, 2000 Organizer, Storyboard
198 213 The Super Car's Trap (Part 2) July 10, 2000 Storyboard
209 225 The Falling from Mt. Ryujin Case (Part 1) October 16, 2000 Storyboard
219 235-238 The Gathering of the Detectives! Shinichi Kudo vs. Kaitou Kid January 8, 2001 Organizer, Storyboard 2 hours
235 254 The Locked Wine Cellar May 28, 2001 Storyboard
239 258 The 3 "K"s of Osaka Case (Part 2) June 25, 2001 Storyboard
255 274 The 14th Round of the Matsue Tamatsukuri Linked Verse Contest (Part 1) October 29, 2001 Storyboard
294 316 The Smash of Determination and Love (Part 1) September 9, 2002 Storyboard
345 371-375 Head-to-Head Match with the Black Organization: A Dual Mystery on a Full Moon Night January 5, 2004 Storyboard 2.5 hours
383 414-417 Miracle at Koshien Ball Park! The Defiants Face the Dark Demon December 20, 2004 Organizer, Storyboard 2 hours
400 434 Ran's Suspicions May 30, 2005 Episode director
453 493 Preview Screening of Fate and Friendship October 23, 2006 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
489 534-535 Courtroom Confrontation III: Prosecutor as Eyewitness November 26, 2007 Storyboard, Episode director 1 hour
513 560 Coffee Aroma with Murderous Intention (Part 1) September 1, 2008 Episode director
536 587 The Secret of the Vanished Masterpiece May 30, 2009 Storyboard
539 590 A Fool's Inheritance July 4, 2009 Storyboard, Episode director
583 634 Kobayashi-sensei's Love August 14, 2010 Organizer, Storyboard
584 635 Inspector Shiratori's Lost Love August 21, 2010 Organizer, Storyboard
585 636 Timeless Sakura's Love August 28, 2010 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
589 640 The Worst Birthday (Part 1) September 25, 2010 Episode director
627 678 Conan & Kid's Battle For Ryoma's Treasure (Part 1) August 20, 2011 Organizer, Storyboard
628 679 Conan & Kid's Battle For Ryoma's Treasure (Part 2) August 27, 2011 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
667 719 Wedding Eve (Part 1) September 1, 2012 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
678 730 Nagasaki Mystery Theatre (End of the Edo) September 1, 2012 Key animation
692 744 The Evening Cherry Blossom Viewing Route on Sumida River (Part 1) March 23, 2013 Key animation
704 756 The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Destination) August 3, 2013 Episode director
724 776 Kaitou Kid and the Blush Mermaid (Part 1) January 4, 2014 Storyboard, Episode director New Year's Greeting only
779 832 The Scarlet Prologue May 30, 2015 Organizer, Storyboard
780 833 The Scarlet Pursuit June 6, 2015 Organizer, Storyboard
783 836 The Scarlet Truth June 27, 2015 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation
795 836 The Secret of the Missing Young Lady October 10, 2015 Episode director
805 859-860 Conan and Ebizo's Kabuki Jūhachiban Mystery (Part 2) January 16, 2016 Episode director 1 hour
845 900 Conan Cornered in the Darkness (Part 1) January 7, 2017 Storyboard, Episode director, Layout New Year's Greeting only
853 908 Memories from Sakura Class (Ran GIRL) March 18, 2017 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
854 909 Memories from Sakura Class (Shinichi BOY) March 25, 2017 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
883 938 The Pop-up Book Bomber (Part 1) December 2, 2017 Picture book design
884 939 The Pop-up Book Bomber (Part 2) December 9, 2017 Picture book design
887 942 Kaitou Kid and the Trick Box (Part 1) January 6, 2018 Storyboard, Episode director New Year's Greeting only
889 944 The New Teacher's Skeleton Case (Part 1) January 20, 2018 Organizer, Storyboard
890 945 The New Teacher's Skeleton Case (Part 2) January 27, 2018 Organizer, Storyboard
926 981 The Heartfelt Strap (Part 2) December 22, 2018 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
927 982-983 The Scarlet School Trip (Bright Red Arc) January 5, 2019 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director 1 hour
928 984-985 The Scarlet School Trip (Red Love Arc) January 12, 2019 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation 1 hour
943 1000 The Tokyo Barls Collection June 15, 2019 Storyboard
954 1011 The Unsolved Cocktail Case (Part 3) September 14, 2019 Organizer, Storyboard
955 1012 The Secret of the Insect Man September 28, 2019 Storyboard
956 1013 The Mystery-Solving Water Taxi (Part 1) October 12, 2019 Storyboard
957 1014 The Mystery-Solving Water Taxi (Part 2) October 19, 2019 Storyboard
965 1022 Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Prologue) January 4, 2020 Storyboard, Key animation
967 1024 Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Climax) January 18, 2020 Storyboard
968 1025 Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Finale) January 25, 2020 Storyboard, Episode director, Key aimation
983 1040 Kid vs. Komei: The Targeted Lips (Part 1) October 3, 2020 Key animation
989 1046 The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary December 5, 2020 Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation
993 1050 Makoto Kyogoku the Understudy (Part 1) January 9, 2021 Storyboard, Episode director New Year's Greeting only
997 1054 Intrigue at Smile Village February 13, 2021 Storyboard
1000 1057 The Moonlight Sonata Murder (Part 1) March 6, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard Remake
1001 1058 The Moonlight Sonata Murder (Part 2) March 13, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director Remake
1009 1066 The Lost Article That Smells Like a Case June 19, 2021 Storyboard
1018 1075 The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 1) September 11, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard
1019 1076 The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 2) September 18, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard
1020 1077 The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 3) September 25, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard
1024 1081 Momiji Ooka's Challenge (Part 1) October 30, 2021 Organizer, Storyboard
1033 1090 Taiko Meijin's Shogi Board (Opening Move) January 8, 2022 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Layout New Year's Greeting inclusive
1035 1092 Taiko Meijin's Shogi Board (Checkmate) January 22, 2022 Organizer, Storyboard
1038 1095 Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Wataru Date March 12, 2022 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation
1040 1097 The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary 2 April 23, 2022 Key animation
1052 1109 The Detective Boys' Test of Courage July 30, 2022 Storyboard
1058 1115 The Man Who Camped Out at the Police Station October 1, 2022 Storyboard
1061 1118 Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Hiromitsu Morofushi October 29, 2022 Episode director
R133 1134 Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Rei Furuya March 11, 2023 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
1077 1135 The Black Organization's Scheme (Hunt) March 25, 2023 Organizer, Storyboard
1079 1137 The Black Organization's Scheme (Identity) April 8, 2023 Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
1087 1145 The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary 3 June 17, 2023 Episode director, Key animation
1109 1167 Takagi and Date and the Notebook Promise (Part 1) January 6, 2024 Storyboard New Year's Greeting only
1115 1173 Chihaya and Jugo's Matchmaking Party (Part 1) March 2, 2024 Organizer, Storyboard
1116 1174 Chihaya and Jugo's Matchmaking Party (Part 2) March 9, 2024 Organizer, Storyboard

Openings and Endings

Participation in: 19 openings and 19 endings

# Song name Original title Role Note
OP
OP4 Unmei no Roulette Mawashite 運命のルーレット廻して Storyboard, Technical director
OP5 TRUTH ~A Great Detective of Love~ TRUTH ~A Great Detective of Love~ Key animation
OP7 Mysterious Eyes Mysterious Eyes Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP9 destiny destiny Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP10 Winter Bells Winter Bells Storyboard
OP11 I can't stop my love for you♥ I can't stop my love for you♥ Storyboard, Technical director
OP12 Kaze no Lalala 風のららら Storyboard
OP31 Don't Wanna Lie Don't Wanna Lie Technical director
OP35 TRY AGAIN TRY AGAIN Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP36 Q&A Q&A Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP37 Butterfly Core Butterfly Core Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP38 Greed Greed Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP40 WE GO WE GO Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
OP41 Nazo (La PomPon) 謎(La PomPon) Storyboard, Technical director
OP42 Hane Storyboard, Technical director
OP43 Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru 世界はあなたの色になる Technical director
OP44 Ikusen no Meikyū de Ikusen no Nazo o Toite 幾千の迷宮で 幾千の謎を解いて Storyboard, Technical director
OP45 Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie, Storyboard, Technical director
OP50 ANSWER ANSWER Storyboard, Technical director
ED
ED7 Still for your love Still for your love Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED9 Secret of my heart Secret of my heart Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED10 Natsu no Maboroshi 夏の幻 Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED11 Start in my life Start in my life Storyboard, Technical director
ED13 Aoi Aoi Kono Hoshi ni 青い青いこの地球に Storyboard, Technical director
ED16 Overture Overture Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED40 Your Best Friend Your Best Friend Technical director
ED44 Hitomi no Melody 瞳のメロディ Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED45 Kimi no Egao ga Nani Yori mo Suki Datta 君の笑顔がなによりも好きだった Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED46 Ima Aitakute... いま逢いたくて… Storyboard, Technical director
ED47 RAIN MAN RAIN MAN Storyboard, Technical director
ED48 Muteki na Heart 無敵なハート Storyboard, Technical director
ED49 Kimi e no Uso 君への嘘 Storyboard, Technical director
ED50 Unmei no Roulette Mawashite (La PomPon) 運命のルーレット廻して(La PomPon) Storyboard, Technical director
ED51 Futari no Byōshin ふたりの秒針 Storyboard, Technical director
ED52 SAWAGE☆LIFE SAWAGE☆LIFE Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
ED54 Yume Monogatari 夢物語 Storyboard, Technical director
ED55 Togetsukyō ~Kimi Omou~ 渡月橋~君 想ふ~ Storyboard, Technical director
ED59 Kimi to Koi no Mama de Owarenai Itsumo Yume no Mama ja Irarenai きみと恋のままで終われない いつも夢のままじゃいられない Storyboard, Technical director

Movies

Participation in: 21 movies

Movie Title Original airdate Role Note
1 The Time-Bombed Skyscraper April 19, 1997 Assistant technical director, Sub-character design, Key animation
2 The Fourteenth Target April 18, 1998 Key animation
3 The Last Wizard of the Century April 17, 1999 Key animation
4 Captured in Her Eyes April 22, 2000 Key animation
8 Magician of the Silver Sky April 17, 2004 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
9 Strategy Above the Depths April 9, 2005 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
10 The Private Eyes' Requiem April 15, 2006 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
11 Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure April 21, 2007 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
12 Full Score of Fear April 19, 2008 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
13 The Raven Chaser April 18, 2009 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
14 The Lost Ship in the Sky April 17, 2010 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
15 Quarter of Silence April 16, 2011 Chief director, Storyboard, Technical director
16 The Eleventh Striker April 14, 2012 Chief director, Storyboard, Technical director
17 Private Eye in the Distant Sea April 20, 2013 Supervisor, Key animation
Crossover Lupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie December 7, 2013 Key animation
18 Dimensional Sniper April 19, 2014 Key animation
19 Sunflowers of Inferno April 18, 2015 Key animation
20 The Darkest Nightmare April 16, 2016 Key animation
21 The Crimson Love Letter April 15, 2017 Key animation
22 Zero the Enforcer April 13, 2018 Key animation
23 The Fist of Blue Sapphire April 12, 2019 Key animation

Specials

Participation in: 2 specials

Special Title Original airdate Role Note
5 The Disappearance of Conan Edogawa: The Worst Two Days in History December 26, 2014 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
6 Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small December 9, 2016 Director, Screenplay, Storyboard, Technical director

OVAs

Participation in: 11 OVAs

OVA Title Original airdate Role Note
1 Conan vs. Kid vs. Yaiba - The Grand Battle for the Treasure Sword!! October 11, 2000 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
2 16 Suspects!? January 16, 2002 Director, Storyboard
3 Conan, Heiji, and the Vanished Boy March 12, 2003 Director
7 A Challenge from Agasa! Agasa vs. Conan and the Detective Boys March 14, 2007 Director
8 The Casebook of Female High-School Detective Sonoko Suzuki March 12, 2008 Director
Magic File 2 Shinichi Kudo, The Case of the Mysterious Wall and the Black Lab April 19, 2008 Director
Magic File 3 Shinichi and Ran, Memories of Mahjong Tiles and Tanabata April 18, 2009 Director
Magic File 4 The Osaka Okonomiyaki Odyssey April 17, 2010 Director
Magic File 5 Niigata~Tokyo Souvenir Capriccio April 16, 2011 Director, Storyboard, Technical director
Bonus File 1 Flower of Fantasista April 14, 2012 Director
Shogakukan Illustrated Encyclopedia Series 11 A Large Collection of Surprising Creatures! June 15, 2013 Director

Other notable works

Anime

  • Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time: Key Animation (TIME.4)
  • Lupin III: Bye Bye Liberty Crisis: Key Animation
  • Lupin III: Dragon of Doom: Key Animation
  • Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure: Key Animation
  • The Mischievous Twins: Episode Director
  • Once Upon a Time (Windaria): Key Animation
  • Project A-Ko 4: Final: Key Animation
  • Puppet Princess: Key Animation
  • SD Gundam Musha, Knight, Commando: Key Animation
  • Space Adventure Cobra - The Movie: Animation
  • Urusei Yatsura: Only You: Assistant Animator, In-Between Animation

Non-anime

  • Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin: Animator
  • Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats: Key Animation

See also

References

  1. 山本泰一郎 - Wikipedia (Japanese)
  2. MyAnimeList
  3. Anime News Network
  4. Baidu Wiki (Chinese)